Retaining ring



y 1949. N. P. DARASH 2,476,586

b RETAINING RING Filed Dec. 13, 1944 IIIIH F/ 6 INVENTOR.

Aha/1am: P DAB/95H BY WWW 85% Patented July 19, 1949 RETAINING RINGNicholas P. Darash, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Eaton ManufacturingCompany, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Cleveland,

Application December 13. 1944, Serial No. 568,057

, structure or for various other uses.

The retaining rings embodying the present invention are illustrated anddescribed herein as employed for retaining the inner and outerbearingraces in position on a shaft and in the supporting housing, but it willbe understood that this disclosure is simply by way of example and notby way of limitation.

Heretoforeretaining rings of the character specified have been made ofspring metal and have taken the form of split rings which, when placedin their operative positions depend on their inherent spring action tocontract or expand, as the case may be, and hold themselves in operativeposition. This has necessitated the steel, in constructing the retainingrings. Also it has been necessary in applying the rings to expand thesame over the shaft which the bearing supports and there is ever presentthe likelihood of expanding the rings beyond their elastic limits andthus giving the rings a permanent set which renders the rings unsuitablefor effective use. Likewise in the case of the retaining rings for theinner bearing race there exists the effect of centrifugal action on therings which tends to expand the rings and may result in the same gettingout of operative position.

An object of the invention is to provide retaining rings of thecharacter referred to and which rings can be economically manufacturedsince they need not be formed of high grade spring metal and which alsocan be applied and removed for the purposes desired with facility.

Another object is to provide a retaining ring such as can be used forholding the inner race of a bearing and which ring will not loosen andshift out of operative position under the. action of centrifugal force,but on the contrary will be more securely retained in operative positionas the centrifugal force increases.

Further and additional objects and advantages not hereinbefore specifiedwill-become apparent during the detailed description which is to follow.

Referring to the accompanyin drawing,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view through a supporting frame orstructure which rotatably mounts a shaft and includes an antifrictionhearing for the shaft; the supporting frame or struc- 1 Claim. (01.85-85) ture and the bearing races being shown in section while the shaftis shown in elevation.

Fig, 2 is an assembled elevationl view of a retaining ring embodying theinvention and which is shown in Fig. 1 mounted in position to retain theinner race of the bearing against axial movement toward the left.

Fig. 3 is a view of the retaining ring shown in Fig. 2 but shows theseparable portions of the ring disconnected.

Fig. 4 is a view on a, smaller scale than Fig. 1 and is partly insection and partly in elevation and shows a retaining ringembodying theinvention and which is used for retaining the outer race of the bearingshown in Fig. 1 against shifting movement toward the left.

Fig. 5 is an assembled elevational view of the retaining ring shown inFig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the retaining ring shown in Figs. 4 and5 with the portions thereof separated.

Referring to Fig. 1, the supporting frame or structure is indicated atIn andthe rotatable shaft mounted by said frame or structure at H. Aportion I0 of the frame or structure forms a housing for theantifriction bearing which supports the shaft II. This bearing isillustrated as a pair of bearings spaced axially of the shaft and eachbearing includes an innerrace l2 and an outer race l3. The inner racesl2 of the bearings abut and are separated by a spacer member M whichsurrounds the shaft II. The

right hand inner race I2 is held against axial movement relative to theshaft II by the spacer member l4 and by an annular shoulder l5 formed inthe frame or support Ill. The left hand inner race I 2 is held againstaxial movement upon the shaft H by the spacer member l4 and by aretaining ring R embodying the present invention. The right hand outerrace I3 is held between a shoulder l6 and a spacer member II, while theleft hand outer race I3 is shown as held between the spacer member l1and a retaining ring R embodying the present invention. The structure ofthe bearing and the manner in which it is mounted in the housing is,with the exception of the retaining rings R and R old and well known inthe art and per se forms no part of the present invention and thereforeneed not be described herein with greater exactitude.

The retainer ring R is illustrated in Figs, 2 and 3 and is formed of aplurality of separable symmetrical semicircular partsor portions I8,which 3 its inner side with an inclined surface l9, wherefore said endof each part is pointed as indicated at 29. Inwardly of said end and atthe inner end of the inclined surface i9, each part II is recessed toprovide a shoulder 2| and an inclined.

clined surfaces I9 and 22 of the other part II. when the two parts arein assembled relationship;

Each part It at said other end is provided with a shoulder 23 thatmerges with the inclined our face 24 and an inclined surface 29. Inapplyin the retaining ring R, the separate parts or portions thereof arepassed over the shaft II and positioned in the annular groove 21 formedin the periphery of the shaft ii. The two parts it are moved radially.toward each other to cause the inclined surfaces l9 to engage and rideupwardly on the inclined surfaces 24 until the shoulders 2| can snapbehind the shoulders 25, at which time the parts ll will be in therelationship shown in Fig. 2. It will be understood that although theparts It need not be made of high grade spring metal since they do notdepend upon the inherent spring action to retain themselves in positionin the groove 21 that the material of such parts will possess sufllcientinherent spring action however to cause the shoulders 2| to snap behindthe shoulders 25 as just referred to.

It will be seen that the parts I I, when inthe assembled relationshipshown in Fig. 2, are securely interlocked and that the effect of thecentrifugal forces to which the assembled parts may be subjected is tomore securely interlock said assembled parts together, it being recalledthat in the usual retaining ring formed of high grade spring metal andrelying on its inherent contraction ability to retain itself on theshaft, that centrifugal forces acting thereon tend to expand the ringand thus loosen its grip on the shaft.

The retaining ring R not only can be made of relatively inexpensivematerial but since the parts l8 are symmetrical the various inclinedsurfaces and shoulders on the ends of said parts can be formedsimultaneously on a number or gang of the parts. When occasion requiresthe removal of the ring R from the shaft I I, it is merely necessary toinsert the pointed end of a suitable tool such as a'screw driver betweenthe inclineddivergent surfaces 19 and 26. to pry the shoulders 2| out ofcontacting engagement with the shoulders 25, whereupon the parts ll aredisconnected from each other and can be readily removed from the groove21 in the shaft I I. 7

Referring to Figs. and 6 the retaining ring R will be seen as formed ofa plurality of separate arcuate portions or parts, in this instancethree such parts, namely 28, 29, and 39. The parts 29, 29, and 39, whenassembled as indicated in Fig. 5, form a complete ring. The part 28 issimply an arcuate section of the ring and has flat radially extendingend surfaces 9| which, when the parts are assembled, contact,complementary end surfaces 32 and 39 of the parts 29 and 39. The part 29adjacent its other end is cut away to reduce its thickness and toprovide a thin sectioned tongue portion 34 which is disposed at aninclination to the plane of the ring that is normal to the axis thereof.The part 30 of the retaining R is provided at its end opposite arrasecto its end a with a tongue at of reduced thickness and which tongue liesin the plane of the ring that is normal to the ring axis.

' The parts 29, 29 and 99 when assembled act as a retainer ring for theouter race it and are parts 29 and 99 in abutting engagement with the.

end surfaces ll of the part 28. At this time the tongues I4 and" of theparts 29 and 39 slightly 7 overlap but-when-force isapplied to spreadsaid parts in thevplane of the ring, the tongues are slightly flexedrelative to each other due to the inclination of the tongue 34 and movefrom this overlapped relationship into end to end abuttin engagement asindicated in Fig. 4, and at such time the parts are securely retained inthe groove 36. The spreading force may be applied to the parts 29 andill by means of suitable tools engaging in the notches 31 formed in saidparts.

Referring to Fig. 4 it will be seen that the tongue 35 of the part 39contacts throughout its length one side of the groove 99 while the endof the tongue 34. also contacts said side of the groove. This side ofthe groove, which is the left side as viewed in Figs. 1 and 4, takes theend thrust applied to the retaining ring by the shaft through thebearing and thus the tendency in use of the ring R is for the tongues 94and 35 to stay in the position indicated in Fig. 4.

When it is desired to remove the ring R a screw driver or other suitabletool can be inserted in the groove 36 to the left of the tongue 34 asviewed in Fig. 4 and said tongue pried toward the right to disengage itsend from the end of the tongue 35 and-to allow the tongues 34 and 35 to'assume an overlapped relationship, whereupon the ring contracts and theparts 28, 29 and 30 thereof can be removed.

From the foregoing description it will have been seen that the objectsenumerated herein are adequately attained by retaining rings embodyingthe present invention and that no reliance on the inherent spring actionof the ring material is required for holding the rings in operativeposition.

Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustratedand described herein, it will be understood that the invention issusceptible of various modifications and adaptations within the scope ofthe appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A ring for locking 9. bearing race in position and for taking the axialthrust of said rac and adapted to be mounted in a groove formed in themember which supports said race, said ring comprising separate arcuateresilient portions having a width in a radial direction of the ring lessthan one quarter of the outside radius of the rin but so proportioned asto fill said groove and to provide when assembled in said groove acircular abutting surface for said race, said portions having theiradjacent ends formed to cooperatively contact each other to maintain theportions in complete ring formation in said groove, certain of saidcontacting ends being in the form of tongues reduced in cross-sectionalthickness with respect to said portions and with tongues angu larlydisposed relative to each other and provid-- ing for the flexing of saidcertain ends relative to each other during the assembly of said portionsto bring the ends of said tongues into abutting engagement with eachother, said tongues I tile 01 this patent:

imam 5 also providinga space between said ring and the walls of saidgroove into which a suitable tool UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date GeorgeDec. 18, 1906 Vanney Feb. 8, 1910 Philbon et al. Aug. 19, 1913 Osborn..D60. 24, 1918 Dawson Dec. 13, 1927 FQREIGN PATENTS Country Date GreatBritain June 3, 190'!

